The Goal: Understand the difference between voiding and deleting credits, write-offs, refunds, and overpayments — and how each action impacts your accounting records.
Before You Begin:
- The option to Void versus Delete is controlled by the Allow Deletion for Days setting on your General Billing Settings page, at Finance > Administrative > Billing Settings. If this value is set to 0 (best practice), Void is the only available option. See Configure Default Finance Settings for more information.
- Delete removes history from the database and is not recommended as a financial tool. Void preserves the audit trail and is the recommended approach in all cases.
Accounting Processes: What Happens When You Void or Delete
Accrual accounting processes are impacted when credits, write-offs, refunds, and overpayments are voided or deleted.
The following describes what accounting entries are reversed for each transaction type:
| Transaction Type | What the Action Reverses | Accounting Entries Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | Reverse a transaction. | Accounts Receivable credited Revenue debited Deposit Account credited |
| Write-Offs | Reverse a transaction. Generally treated as Bad Debt. | Accounts Receivable credited Revenue debited Deposit Account credited |
| Refunds | Reverse a payment. There is an option to write off the open balance or leave an invoice open. | Accounts Receivable credited Revenue debited Deposit Account credited |
| Overpayments | Can be applied from the Billing tab of a contact to any selected invoices. Once applied, adjustments to an overpayment can only be made on payments that have not been deposited. | — |
Common Pitfalls
- Using Delete Instead of Void: Deleting a financial transaction removes it from the database permanently. This can create gaps in your audit trail and cause accounting discrepancies. Set Allow Deletion for Days to 0 to prevent this.
- Adjusting Deposited Overpayments: Once an overpayment has been deposited, you cannot adjust how it is applied. Ensure overpayments are correctly allocated before running a deposit.